Lucas Cuny

Lucas Cuny grew up in New Haven, Indiana, a small town surrounded by cornfields and truck stops. Like Luke Skywalker escaping Tatooine—or George Bailey always dreaming of leaving Bedford Falls—he shook off the dust of small-town life and headed west to Southern California in search of adventure and to follow his passion for film.

He studied film in Los Angeles and eventually brought his talents back to the Inland Empire, where he has produced short films, documentaries, and commercials. At one point, he had a wild idea: start a film festival in Redlands, California. That idea became Slate Inc., a nonprofit organization he founded to support regional filmmakers. Through Slate, he produced two international film and beer festivals in Redlands, led filmmaking workshops, and secured grants to help fund local film projects.

Lucas went on to earn an MFA in Screenwriting from California State University, Fullerton, and has since remained deeply involved in academia. He is a published author, beginning with his book Running a Film Festival: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Project Management. His academic writing has appeared in respected publications such as the Journal of Film and Video and the Journal of Arts and Letters, where he explored topics like career paths for arts majors.

He has also presented multiple times at the University Film and Video Association’s national conference, covering subjects such as web series development, screenwriting, and creating work experience opportunities for film and media students. Recently, he became Chair of Annual Broadcast Educators Association Media Arts Conference overseeing their 2-year institution competition. 

Lucas continues to write and produce, always with the hope of helping transform the Inland Empire into a thriving hub for film and media production.